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Business of Economics and Engineering, Field: International Marketing

IDENTIFYING BUSINESS

STUDENTS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES

International Marketing D-level dissertation 24th of May 2007

Authors: Agnieszka Borowa Hani S. Darwish

Supervisor: Gabriel Awuah

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 6 1.2 Research problem ........................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Purpose of the study .................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Scope and limitations................................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER TWO............................................................................................................ 11 2. Frame of references ................................................................................................... 11

2.1 Historical views on leadership ............................................................................... 11 2.3 Components of leadership.......................................................................................... 14

2.3.1 The Leader.......................................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 The Follower ...................................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 The Situation ...................................................................................................... 16

2.4 Specific theories of leadership styles..................................................................... 17 2.4.1 Managerial Grid incorporated with Situational Theory........................................ 17 2.4.2 Situational Leadership variable ........................................................................... 20

CHAPTER THREE........................................................................................................ 23 3. Methodology................................................................................................................ 23

3.1 Research strategy....................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Research method ....................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Data collection........................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Validity and reliability ............................................................................................... 26

CHAPTER FOUR .......................................................................................................... 28 4. Empirical results......................................................................................................... 28

4.1 Primary data .............................................................................................................. 28 4.1.1 Students’ work preferences ................................................................................. 28 4.1.2 Students’ concerns .............................................................................................. 30 4.1.3 Identified business students’ leadership style ...................................................... 33

CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................ 39 5. Analysis........................................................................................................................ 39

5.1 Students’ work preferences ........................................................................................ 39 5.2 Students’ concerns..................................................................................................... 40 5.3 Identified business students’ leadership style ............................................................. 41

CHAPTER SIX............................................................................................................... 44 6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 44

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List of References:.......................................................................................................... 47 Articles.....................................................................................................................................45 Internet sources......................................................................................................................46 List of Figures.........................................................................................................................47 List of Tables..........................................................................................................................47

Appendix 1 - Original Questioner

Appendix 2 - The Questionnaire

Appendix 3 - Scoring Section

Appendix 4 - Sample Matrix

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Abstract

The fact is, no organization has ever become great without exceptional leadership -

without leaders who can connect the efforts of their teams to the critical objectives of the

organization, who can tap the full potential of each individual on their teams, who can align

systems and clarify purposes, and who can inspire trust. The purpose of the study is to

investigate and compare what management styles business students from Halmstad

University, Sweden, will implement. Moreover, this study shows future leaders work

preferences and concerns. As a tool for the findings the managerial grid (founded in 1964 by

Blake and Mounton) was incorporated with situational theory (Hersey and Blanchard, 1977).

The investigation was conducted applying a theoretical framework to empirical data. By

analysing leadership styles and students work preferences, it illustrates the kind of leader a

business student will potentially become and which direction he/she may take. Overall, the

average of 130 business students from Halmstad University shows that they are going to be a

Team Leader, because for them the people’s needs as well as the results of their work are

important.

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Acknowledgements

This D-level dissertation was written at Halmstad University as a part of International

Marketing Master Program in the spring semester 2007. The group consisted of two

members: Agnieszka Borowa from Poland and Hani Darwish from USA. Together we

worked as a dynamic team and at the same time as individuals, to investigate the future

leaders at Halmstad University leadership styles development. We would like to thank our

supervisor Gabriel Awuah who gave us guidance and support. Also, we would like to thank

all business students who filled out the questionnaires which helped us gather information

about students’ preferences and enabled us to achieve the purpose of this master’s thesis. In

retrospect, we would like to thank each other for the time and effort; it was a great lesson and

experience that will never be forgotten.

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Agnieszka Borowa Hani S. Darwish

Halmstad, 24th of May 2007

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CHAPTER ONE

1. Introduction

In this chapter, a short background of the dissertation is described and an overview of the

research problem. It also discusses the main purpose of searching for problems which need

to be solved. Furthermore, it explains why the subject was chosen and shows the limitations.

At the end of the chapter, an outline of the whole thesis is given.

1.1 Background

In recent years, the propagation of globalization can be attributed to several growing

factors such as the advancements in new technologies which have enabled global

communication to be more feasible and accessible, the increase in economic stability in

several less developed nations such as India, and the developments in transportation which

have made travelling more efficient. This has created numerous opportunities for firms from

the addition of new markets to improved access of resources to a more comprehensive

understanding of customers from the exposure of various cultures (http://northonline.sccd.ctc.

edu/ssimes/rebeccafisk.html).

Though extremely beneficial for organizational success, the introduction of these new

opportunities has made operation more complex and has created several barriers. This may be

attributed to organizations expanding too rapidly abroad, entering completely new markets

without a more thorough understanding, and not properly rewarding workers with respect to

their traits and cultural values. Whatever the case maybe, this leads companies to integrate

cost-cutting measures such as down-sizing the work force, redu